Mariah Carey & Director Brett Ratner Confirmed Couple? Relationship Has 'Progressed,' Sources Reveal
Mariah Carey's photos with Brett Ratner have fueled rumors indicating that the two are romantically involved with each other.
According to a report by E! News, the songstress and the "X-Men: The Last Stand" director were photographed walking arm-in-arm while shopping in St. Barts over the weekend with another female friend. They were all smiles during the joint birthday celebration. Carey celebrated her special day on Friday while Ratner's 46th birthday was on Saturday, TMZ noted.
Ratner's representatives, however, quickly put a stop to the rumors going around about his alleged dating status with the singer. In a statement sent to People, the filmmaker's camp said, "They have been best friends for a very long time."
Carey and Ratner worked together in the artist's music videos, with the first one in 1998's "I Still Believe" clip, E! News wrote. Since then, other projects of the pair included 1999's "Heartbreaker," 2000's "Thank God I Found You," 2005's "It's Like That," "2005's "We Belong Together," 2008's "Touch My Body," and 2009's "Obsessed" and "H.A.T.E.U." Rumors about the real score between them have been going on for a while now, only to be shut down again and again.
The duo's double birthday bash took place in an extravagant soiree on a yacht on Sunday night. TMZ posted a photo of the pair together getting really close while sitting on a cushion with the director's arm around Carey. Sources claim that they were in "full on couple mode" and that "she's totally into him and he is nuts for her." Hours later, the gossip site posted another photo showing Ratner making out with another girl who is definitely not Carey.
The rumored couple has been spotted hanging out together ever since Carey parted ways with husband of six years Nick Cannon, E! News noted. On March 24, the songstress and Ratner, together with Courtney Love, posted photos of a dinner date on their respective Instagram pages.
Carey also shared a snapshot of him and Ratner on Instagram earlier in March with the caption: "Hanging out in the girls room with @brettrat."
Carey and Cannon broke up in August 2014, with the latter filing for divorce in December of the same year, E! News wrote. They have 3-year-old twins named Monroe and Moroccan. A separate report from the news outlet indicated that Cannon has already moved on from his ex-wife with the help of model Jessica White.
According to E! News, Cannon and White's relationship has been "going strong" and that they spend lots of time together. However, they chose to keep the relationship under wraps "out of respect for Nick's family since the divorce is not final" even though they really want to shout their love to the world.